Dressed in their iconic red hue, Nord keyboards are some of the most identifiable and revered stage instruments. Universally recognized for their unmatched performance and flawless sound, Nord keyboards are a top choice for professional keyboard players and discerning amateurs.
The question isn’t “Should I get a Nord?” because the answer is obviously yes! What you need to decide is “Which Nord is right for me?” The answer boils down to what kind of keyboard player you are — the sounds you like, your playing style (or styles), and your demands whether they be professional or amateur. Whatever your needs, there is a Nord keyboard that satisfies them. So, let’s dig in a little bit and help you figure out which Nord keyboard is the right one for you.
The first question to ask when picking a Nord is this: Are you looking for a piano, an organ, or a synth? Conveniently, Nord keyboards break down into these three categories: Stage Pianos, Organs, and Synths (and a category-defying flagship keyboard we’ll discuss at the end!).
Each category includes two to three keyboards with important variations. As you’ll see, there is some overlap between the keyboards, and understanding the differences between their feature sets will only help to inform your decision.
Now, let’s take a look at the categories and the Nord keyboards they contain.
Nord Stage Pianos
Nord Grand
Created for keyboardists looking for a natural piano-playing experience, the Nord Grand combines a meticulously sampled collection of ten grand pianos and nine upright pianos with a handful of thoughtful design choices to deliver an uncannily accurate simulation of an acoustic piano. Some of the features that contribute to this include an ultra-responsive Kawai hammer-action keybed with textured keys, a weighted feel, and a bouncy rebound; Nord’s proprietary Advanced String Resonance; and Nord’s Triple Pedal, which also simulates the mechanical sounds that emanate from acoustic pianos.
Nord leverages digital technology to expand beyond traditional piano sounds. Pulling from Nord’s exceptional Sample Library 3.0, the Nord Grand puts a vast selection of strings, brass, electric pianos, synths, and more at your fingertips. It’s an ideal choice for pianists who want something familiar yet also something that will open up new creative possibilities.
Nord Piano 4
The Nord Piano 4 bundles the impeccable Nord sound and performance into a streamlined package. With perhaps the most intuitive interface in the Nord family, the Piano 4 is incredibly simple to navigate so that you can call up patches, functions, and effects in a flash. Like the Nord Grand, the Piano 4 is packed with stunningly realistic piano sounds, a sample synth section, 120-voice polyphony, Advanced String Resonance, and the Nord Triple Pedal with dynamic pedal noise. In place of the Grand’s Kawai hammer-action keys, the Piano 4 employs Nord’s Virtual Hammer Action technology, which has a slightly lighter feel, and smoother keys that are more similar to organ or synth keys.
The Nord Piano 4 is a great choice for keyboardists who cover a lot of sonic territory in an ensemble. It has plenty of flexibility for creating custom sounds by layering instruments from the Nord Sample Library. And, it gives you the ability to split the keyboard into different instrument zones with user-defined crossfade points. Additionally, the Piano 4 boasts a hearty stereo effects engine with reverb, delay, and virtual models of classic stompboxes.
Nord Electro 6
Lovers of electromechanical pianos, such as Clavinets, Rhodes, and Wurlitzers, might find their best match in the Nord Electro 6, which offers breathtaking emulations of those instruments. It also contains an assortment of Nord’s acoustic piano and synth sounds in addition to the B3, Vox, Farfisa, and B3 Bass from Nord’s C2D organ. One of the most immediately apparent differences between the Electro 6 and the Nords previously described is its waterfall-style keyboard. A characteristic feature of organs, waterfall keys have rounded front edges and so lack the lips found on traditional piano keys. Waterfall keys allow for the performance of specific organ techniques such as squabbling and palm smearing that can be difficult (and painful!) to execute on lipped keys. The Electro 6 also moves into organ territory with its organ engine. It features nine manual drawbars for tactile control over your sound, which can add expression and nuance to your performance, and they are a lot of fun to use. To pile on even more vibe, the Electro 6 has a mount for the optional Nord Half Moon Switch that gives you toggle control over the behavior of the onboard rotating speaker emulation.
Nord Organs
Nord C2D
While the Electro 6 takes a lot of its inspiration from vintage organs, the Nord C2D is a true dual-manual drawbar clonewheel organ with spot-on emulations of tonewheel organs, transistor organs, and Nord’s celebrated sampled Baroque pipe organ. Each of the C2D’s two manuals come with two sets of nine drawbars for deep tone shaping. The C2D impresses with its remarkably realistic mechanical key-click simulation, which is essential to both the sound and the experience of playing a classic tonewheel organ. The C2D gives you precise control over its percussion levels to pull out just the right amount of bite and harmonic character. As with all of Nord’s keyboards, the C2D has a sublime feel, featuring waterfall keys and a solid yet lightweight body. For easier dual-manual playability, the upper keys have a subtle, ergonomic forward tilt. The C2D’s notable feature list includes an exquisite simulation of a vintage Leslie 122 rotary speaker cab, which, like the Electro 6’s rotating speaker emulation, can be controlled with the optional Half Moon Switch.
Nord Pedal Keys 27
Want the ultimate clonewheel experience? Extend the C2D’s bottom end with Nord’s Pedal Keys 27. Just like the bass pedals found on classic organs, the keys on the Pedal Keys 27 are hefty and have a long key length for toe-heel playing. The Pedal Keys 27 also has a swell control to inject your performance with extra color and expression.
Nord Synthesizers
Nord Wave 2
The newest addition to the Nord family, the Nord Wave 2 is an ultra-powerful performance synthesizer packed with classic synth sounds and cutting-edge synth technology. The Wave 2’s massive sound derives from its layered design, which essentially provides you with four synthesizers in a single unit. These synth layers can all be extensively shaped and stacked to produce a nearly limitless number of unique patches and instruments. The Wave 2’s interface will be instantly familiar to those experienced with keyboard synthesizers. And, because of its streamlined, intuitive layout, it is an excellent synth for beginning and intermediate synthesists, too. To build your patches, you can choose from four oscillator modes — virtual analog, wavetable, FM, or samples — and then sculpt and modulate them with the Wave 2’s outstanding filters, amps, and LFOs and its supremely tweakable effects section. Whether you’re into prog, synthwave, EDM, hip-hop, or pop, the Nord Wave 2 is capable of generating sounds that will delight you.
Nord Lead A1
For those whose taste in synthesis is distinctly analog, Nord offers the Nord Lead A1. Powered by Nord’s industry-leading analog-modeling technology, the Lead A1 churns out gargantuan bass tones, blistering leads, and celestial pads, all dripping with analog warmth. However, because of its entirely digital sound generation, it is far more flexible and more reliable than analog synthesizers. Additionally, its sturdy, bantam-weight chassis is excellent for gigging keyboardists who want to access a full palette of sounds without bringing an army of analog synths onstage. Like the Wave 2, the Lead A1 is incredibly simple to both program and navigate, and it includes a robust effects section for twisting and manipulating patches into mind-altering sonic concoctions.
The Flagship Keyboard
Nord Stage 3
As you can see, Nord caters to every type of keyboardist, developing instruments suited to their requirements and preferences. However, some keyboardists want it all! If you’re like them, then the Nord Stage 3 is the Nord for you. Nord’s flagship model, the Stage 3 takes the essential elements of all of Nord’s keyboards and packs them into a single, eminently playable instrument. Running from left to right, the Stage 3 is organized in three sections: organ, piano, and synth, all of which can be layered into dense, harmonically rich combinations of sounds. Yet, with all of its functionality, the Stage 3 remains highly portable and sports a sleek, intelligently structured interface. Equipped with a fully weighted hammer-action keybed, the Stage 3 has a satisfying acoustic-piano feel akin to the Grand and the Piano 4. In lieu of the manual drawbars on the C2D and the Electro 6, the Stage 3 uses digital drawbars with brightly lit LED displays. Perhaps most importantly, the Stage 3 contains a staggering selection of instruments with 2GB of onboard memory for storing the instrument sounds of your choice from the Nord Piano Library. The Stage 3 is the ultimate Nord keyboard — ready for any genre and any style at any time!
Which One Will You Choose?
Picking out your first — or your next — Nord may require a little bit of soul-searching! But Sweetwater’s Sales Engineers are not only here to help you along your journey but also are more than ready to go in-depth on all things Nord with you. Reach out to us at (800) 222-4700 to learn more!
